Commentary
Many white-collar professionals worry about the tech inhibiting creativity and making errors, says this writer for the Financial Times.
Do you miss your old working life, the one before AI muscled in? Almost two-thirds of white-collar workers do, according to a survey done by consultancy Adaptavist. (File photo: iStock)
28 Jul 2026 05:58AM
LONDON: Do you miss your old working life, the one before AI muscled in?Many do. Job hunters complain of the lack of the human touch as algorithms screen their applications and interviews are conducted by robo-recruiters. Some lament that generative AI has intensified work rather than given them room to breathe. In one study, “employees worked at a faster pace (and) took on a broader scope of tasks” due to AI. Others spurn it altogether, opting out of automated shortcuts because it makes them lazy-brained and contaminates their thinking.Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of white-collar workers regularly yearn for their old working life, according to consultancy Adaptavist. About a third would ditch GenAI for inhibiting creativity, its research finds, while a similar proportion worry about misuse. Almost half say the need to fact-check AI slop is adding to the slog - contrary to the grand promise that the future of work would dial down the drudgery.
